Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has called on European NATO defense ministers to strengthen their combat capabilities and take the lead in defending the continent against the Russian threat.
The influential official, sent to the Brussels meeting by the White House in place of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stated that the United States plans to reduce its forces in Europe, but emphasized that Washington remains committed to the military alliance.
Colby said Europe must go “beyond contributions and targets toward concrete outcomes and capabilities,” aiming to reset relations following last month’s heated debate over Greenland, which Donald Trump sought from Denmark.
“This means prioritizing combat effectiveness over bureaucratic and regulatory gridlock. It means making tough decisions on force structure, readiness, reserves, and industrial capacity that reflect the reality of modern conflict, not peacetime politics,” Colby told NATO allies on Thursday.
Last summer, European NATO members agreed to increase baseline defense spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 in order to move closer to U.S. levels, but it remains unclear what this increased militarization will concretely entail.
Colby’s remarks were delivered behind closed doors in a brief address to the other 31 member states at the start of the defense ministers’ meeting in Brussels and were later released by the Pentagon.
He emphasized that U.S. forces, currently numbering around 85,000 troops in Europe, will be positioned “in a more limited and focused manner.”
